Bob Edgar | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/bob-edgar
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Why the IRS should revoke Alec's charitable status | Bob Edgarhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/23/irs-american-legislative-exchange-council-status
Would the American Legislative Exchange Council tout its lawmaking influence to corporate backers if it wasn't a lobbyist?<p>You'd think that an American business taking part in a scheme to secretly lobby for the passage of state laws tailored to fattening its profits at the expense of the public good would be shunned by customers and marginalized in the marketplace.</p><p>But today, mega-companies like Walmart, Koch Industries, Pfizer and State Farm Insurance are openly, if quietly engaged in just such an effort. They call it the <a href="http://www.alec.org/">American Legislative Exchange Council, or Alec</a>, cloak it in rhetoric about free speech and free markets, and whine like spoiled children when someone dares to tell the truth about what it's up to.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/23/irs-american-legislative-exchange-council-status">Continue reading...</a>US politicsUS newsUS taxationCharitiesThinktanksVoluntary sectorMon, 23 Apr 2012 18:56:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/23/irs-american-legislative-exchange-council-statusLarry Downing/ReutersPresident George W Bush puts his arm around the Jefferson Freedom Award after speaking to the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec) in Texas, 2005. Photograph: Larry Downing/ReutersLarry Downing/ReutersPresident George W Bush puts his arm around the Jefferson Freedom Award after speaking to the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec) in Texas, 2005. Photograph: Larry Downing/ReutersBob Edgar2012-04-23T18:56:16Z